is helping too. the boom in as production combined with energy efficiency has driven imports to a near 20-year low and gas production to an all-time high. and renewable energy production has doubled. of course, we need a lot more new jobs. but there are already more than 3 million jobs open and unfilled in america. mostly because the people who apply for them don't get yet have the required skills to do them. so even as we get americans more jobs, we have to prepare more americans for the new jobs that are actually going to be created. the old economy is not coming back. we've got to build a new one and educate people to do those jobs.

the president -- the president and his education secretary supported community colleges in working together to train people for jobs that are actually open in their communities. and even more important, after a decade in which exploding college costs have increased the dropout rate so much that the percentage of our young people with four-year college degrees has gone down so much, that we have dropped to 16th in the world. in the percentage of young people with college degrees. so, the president's student loan reform is more important than ever. here's what it does. here's what it does. you need to tell every voter where you live about this. it lowers the cost of federal student loans, and even more important, it gives students the right to repay those loans as a

clear fixed percentage of their income for up to 20 years. now, what does this mean? what does this mean? think of it. it means no one will ever have to drop out of college again for fear they can't repay their debt. and it means, it means that if someone wants to take a job with a modest income, a teacher, a police officer, if they want to be a small town doctor in a rural area, they won't have to turn those jobs down because they don't pay enough to repay the debt. their debt obligation will be determined by their salary. this will change the future for young americans. i don't know about you, but all these issues i know we're better

off because president obama made the decisions he did. now, that brings me to health care. the republicans call it derisively obama care. they say they will repeal it. are they right? let's take a look at what's actually happened so far. first, individuals in businesses have already gotten more than $1 billion in refunds from insurance companies because the law requires 80% to 85% of your premium to go to your health care, not profits or promotion. and the gains are greater than

that because a bunch of insurance companies have applied to lower the rate to comply with requirements. 3 million young people between 19 and 25 are insured for the first time because their parents' policy can cover them. so millions of seniors are receiving preventive care, all the way from breast cancer screenings to tests for heart problems and scores of other things. and younger people are getting them, too. boy, soon the insurance companies, not the government, the insurance companies will have many of new customers, many of them middle class people with preexisting conditions who could never get insurance before. now, finally, listen to this, for the last two years, after going up three times the rate of inflation for a decade, for the

last two years, health care costs have been under 4% in both years for the first time in 50 years. so let me ask you something. are we better off because president obama fought for health care reform? you bet we are. now, there were two other attacks on the president in tampa. i think deserve an answer. first, both governor romney and congressman ryan attacked the president for allegedly robbing medicare. $716 billion. that's the same attack they leveled against the congress in 2010. and they got a lot of votes on it. but it's not true. look, here's what really happened. you be the judge. here's what really happened.

there were no cuts to benefit at all, none. what the president did was to save money, by taking the recommendations of a commission of professionals, to cut unwarranted subsidies to providers and insurance companies that were not making people healthier. and were not necessary to get the providers to provide the service. and instead of rating medicare, he used the savings to close the donut hole in the medicare drug program. and you all got to listen carefully, this is really important, and to add eight years to the life of the medicare trust fund so it is solvent until 2024.

so president obama and the democrats didn't weaken medicare. they strengthened medicare. now, when congressman ryan looked into that tv camera and attacked president obama's medicare savings as, quote, the biggest, coldest power play, i didn't know whether to laugh or cry. because that $716 billion is exactly to the dollar the same amount of medicare savings that he had in his own budget. you got to give one thing, it takes some brass to attack a guy for doing what you did.

so, we're having a good time with this, getting serious now, i want you to listen. it's important. because a lot of people believe this stuff. now, at least on this issue, and this one issue, governor romney has been consistent. he -- he attacked president obama, too. but he actually wants to repeal the savings and give the money back to the insurance company. he wants to go back to the old system which means we'll reopen the doughnut hole and force seniors to pay more for drugs.

and we'll reduce the life of the medicare trust fund by eight years. so if he's elected and if he does what he promised to do, medicare will now go broke in 2016. think about that. that means after all we won't have to wait until the voucher program kicks in in 2023 to see the end of medicare as we know it. they're going to do it to us sooner than we thought. now, folks, this is serious because it gets worse. and you won't be laughing when i finish telling you this. they also want to block grant medicaid and cut it by a third over the coming ten years. of course, that's going to really hurt a lot of poor kids. but that's not all. a lot of folks don't know it,

but nearly two-thirds of the medicare is spent on nursing home care for medicare seniors who are eligible for medicaid. it's going to end medicare as we know it. and as a lot of that money is also spent to help people with disabilities. including a lot of middle-class families whose kids have downs syndrome or autism or other severe conditions. and honestly, let's think about it, if that happens, i don't want those families are going to do. i know what i'm going to do. i'm going to do everything i can to see that it doesn't happen. we can't let it happen. we can't.

now, wait a minute, let's look -- let's look at the other big charge the republicans made. it's a real doozie. they actually have charged and run ads saying that president obama wants to weaken the work requirements in the welfare reform bill i signed that moves millions of people from welfare to work. now, wait. you need to know, here's what happened. nobody ever tells you what really happened. here's what happened. when some republican governors asked if they could have waivers to try new ways to put people on

welfare back to work, the obama administration listened. because we all know it's hard for even people with good work histories to get jobs today. so moving folks from welfare to work is a real challenge. and the administration agreed to give waivers to those governors and others only if they had a credible plan to increase employment by 20%, and they could keep the waivers only if they did increase employment. now, did i make myself clear? the requirement was for more work, not less. so, this is personal to me, we moved millions of people off welfare. it was one of the reasons in the eight years i was president, we had 100 times as many people move out of poverty into middle class than had been under the previous 12 years. 100 times as many.

it's a big deal. but i am telling you the claim that president obama weakened welfare reform's work requirement is just not true. but they keep on running ads claiming it. you want to know why? their campaign poster said we are not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers. now, finally, i can say that is true. i couldn't have said it better myself. and i hope you and every american within the sound of my voice remembers it every time they see one of those ads and it turns into an ad to re-elect

barack obama and keep the fundamental principles of personal empowerment and moving everybody to get a job into work as soon as we can. n now, let's talk about the debt. today, interest rates are low, lower than the rate of inflation. people are practically paying to us. borrow money, holding their money for them. but it become a big problem when the economy grows and interest rates start to rise. we've got to deal with this long-term debt problem or it will deal with up. it will gobble up the percentage of health care and science and technology. we've got to deal with it. now, what has the president done? he has offered a reasonable plan of $4 trillion in debt reduction over a decade with $2.5 trillion

coming -- for every $2.5 trillion in spending cuts, he raises a dollar in revenues. 2 1/2 to 1. and he has tight controls on future spending. that's the kind of balanced approach proposed by the sens sensenbaugh commission. first the romney plan fails the test of fiscal responsibility. the numbers just don't add up. i mean, consider this, what would you do if you had to -- somebody says, oh, we've got a big debt problem, we've got to reduce the debt. what's the first thing to do? well, to reduce the debt, we've got to have another $5 trillion in tax cuts. we'll make the debt cut bigger before we start to get out of it. now, when you say, what are you

going to do about this $5 trillion you just added on. they'll say, oh, we'll make it up by eliminating loopholes in the tax cuts. so then you ask, well, which loopholes and how much? you know what they say? see me about that after the election. i'm not making it up. that's their position. see me about that after the election. now, people ask me all the time how we got to our surplus budgets in a row. what new ideas do we bring to washington? i always give a one word answer -- arithmetic. arithmetic. if they stay within a $5 trillion tax cut plan in a debt

reduction plan, the arithmetic tells us, no matter what they say, one of three things is about to happen. one, assuming they try to do they'll try to do what they say to do, get rid of that, cutting those deductions. one, they'll have to eliminate so many deductions like the ones for home mortgages and charitable giving that middle class families will see their tax bills go up an average of $2,000, while anybody who makes $3 million or more will see their tax bill go down $2850,000. -- $250,000. or, two, they'll have to cut so much spending that they'll obliterate the budget for the national parks for ensuring clean air, clean water, safe food, safe air travel. they'll cut back on college loan, early childhood education,

nutrition programs, all the programs that empower middle class families and help poor kids. oh, they'll cut back on investments in roads and bridges and science and technology and biomedical, that's what they'll do. that will hurt the middle class and the poor and put the future on hold to give tax cuts, upper income people who have been getting it all along. or, three, in spite of all the rhetoric, what they've been doing for 30 years, they'll go and cut taxes, way more than they cut spending, especially with that defense increase, and they'll just explode the debt and weaken the economy. and they'll destroy the federal government's ability to help you by letting interest gobble up all your tax payments. don't you ever forget when you hear them talking about this. that republican economic policy

quadrupled the national debt before i took office in the 12 years before i took office. and doubled the debt in the eight years after i left. because it defied arithmetic. it was a highly inconvenient thing for them in our debates that i was just a country boy from arkansas and i came from a place where people still thought 2 and 2 was 4. it's arithmetic. we simply cannot afford to give the reins of government to someone who will double-down on trickle-down. now, think about this.

president obama -- president obama's plan cuts the debt, honors our values, brightens the future of our children our families and our nation. it's a heck of a lot better. it passes the arithmetic test and far more important, it passes the values test. my fellow americans, all of us in this grand hall and everybody watching at home, when we vote in this election, we'll be deciding what kind of country we want to live in. if you want a winner-take-all, you're on your own society, you should support the republican ticket. but if you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibility, a we're all in this together society, you should vote for barack obama and joe biden.

if you -- if you want -- if you want america -- if you want every american to vote and you think it is wrong to change voting procedures, just to reduce the turnout of younger, poor, minority and disabled voters, you should support barack obama. and if you think, if you think the president was right to open the doors of american opportunity to all those young immigrants brought here when they were young so they can serve in the military or go to

college, must vote for barack obama. if you want to a future of shared prosperity, where the middle class is growing and poverty is declining, where the american dream is really alive and well again and where the united states maintains its leadership as a force for peace and justice and proererity in this highly competitive world, you have to vote for barack obama. i love our country so much and i know we're coming back. for more than 200 years, through every crisis, we've always come back. people have our demise ever since george washington was criticized for being mediocre

with a bad set of wooden false teeth. so far every american that's bid against america has lost money because we always come back. we come through every fire a little stronger and a little better. and we do it because in the end, we decide to champion the cause for our our founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, they're sacred honor, because of forming a more perfect union. my fellow americans, if that is what you want, if that is what you believe, you must vote and you must re-elect president barack obama. god bless you and god bless america. ♪ don't stop thinking about tomorrow ♪ >> and there he was, the former president, bill clinton. george, the old pro comes out of

retirement, filled with vitality and does he know how to ride the wave inside. >> there is president obama right there coming out on the stage. after getting the best nomination a man could hope for. president obama has been running for president about a year and a half, 2011. president clinton made the best argument. it was part tutorial, part pep rally. he did a more coherent answer that he heard for the obama campaign and laid out the case against mitt romney. >> and as i watched mrs. obama watching him defend her husband, there are tears in her is. >> convention speakers are under

convention rhetoric. you have to admire the sheer artistry under which bill clinton exercise his literary license. i enjoy the histrionics, i believe the fact checkers that he mentioned checking things, such as, he said we had declining inflation in health care costs for two years and he ascribed that to obama care which hasn't come into effect yet. the fact is, he did raise a point that i expect to come back to haunt romney in the debates when he said mitt romney promises to balance the tax cuts with deductions that he will not mention. there's a reason for that, every one of the deductions that he has to cut are going to be difficult and popular. the fact is, the man up there now, the president with the former president, has a very tough act to follow tomorrow night.

>> i thought he made a powerful compelling argument as to why the american people should rehire president obama. his presentation was thoughtful, it was powerful. more importantly, it was emotional. people will connect with some of the arguments he made about the way president obama handled one of the worst crisis this country has faced since the great depression. >> and after that, i get it, i know it, i've been there, from the perspective of a president. >> he came out part professor, part teacher. it was slightly funny. a perfect tone. as donna mentioned along the way, i think he helped seriously close the enthusiasm gap. >> jake tapper. >> diane, the crowd here is chanting "fired up, ready to

go." it's an obama campaign chant from 2007 and 2008. they hung on every word from former president bill clinton who deviated from prepared text quite often. using his prepared speech as more of a guide. he was clearly relishing, making a case. it was a very emotional and powerful speech from the former president. president obama came out and gave him a hug. personally applauded him. president clinton said thanks. >> there you have it again. what a night here at the democratic national convention. as george was saying, big act to follow tomorrow night, the president will be speaking tomorrow night in front of this same crowd. a man, bill clinton, cool on the outside, burning on the inside for the american dream tomorrow night. >> you can see on abcnews.com all night long. terry moran will be here with a special edition of "nightline."

and i'll see you on "good morning america" with a full wrap-up. >> good night. >> announcer: this has been a presentation of abc news.

news at eleven. president bill clinton takes stage of the democratic national convention. made aner president impassioned plea to give the obama, president, barack four more years. are live with the word on not the president connected with the democratic base and independence. what do you say? bill clinton on steroids. i am a country boy from arkansas. >> it was interesting because it so choreographed. we saw that with the president

out at the last minute. this is something that is [unintelligible] he caught the deputy campaign manager and said he was d that president clinton at shine president obama. not have anyo that butabout his work cutma has out for him. was classical bill clinton. was having a ball up there. he was giving some hard facts g about the need to .ork together he talked about the fact that was opposing barack a is now his secretary of state. let's listen. rex it is going to end medicare it.e know and a lot of that money is also people withp disabilities. including a lot of middle-class families his kids have down

autism or other severe conditions. and honestly, think about it. if that happens, i do not know what those families are going to do. so i know what i'm going to do. am going to do everything i can to see it does not happen. we cannot let that happen. >> it is hard to pick a bite, were so many. >> the speech was 50 minutes long. pointed out 24 million jobs republicaner presidents. 42 million under democratic presidents. that brought a big round of applause.

there were at capacity. they had to shut the doors. issue, the fire marshal had to say was a concerns. people angry they could for what turned out an evening. about what the president -- president clinton with tonight. his personal endorsement. croci won a man who believes was doubt that we can build an american dream economy. by innovation and creativity. by education and cooperation. and by the way, after last night, i want a man who had the to marry michelle obama. >> bill clinton has -- had a 69% rating in a poll. i would say it is 99% or 100% was some news. on the convention floor.

democrats inserted the word named jerusalem as the capital of israel. some bows on the boos on the floor. president obama decided to to allow the language to be inserted. mikulski, brought everyone up. e wants elizabeth warren who that primeht in to be one ofur those. >> a lot of activity and will forward for tomorrow night. be the one towill podium and get the fanter. a surprise.f ,e will see gabrielle giffords who spent so much time after thatut at killing her. she is going to make an appearance. that will be emotional. >> this is an amazing

appearance. when you look at what bill his wifeas doing for campaign, some of the things made the obama people very angry. embracing after this blockbuster speech. >> he was talking about that. the need to come together. there you are. >> will have to see if the his speechs changing what he heard tonight. stay with us here and we will have complete coverage of the complete convention. there will have every single development including president 's address to write. while a former president , the republican to become the next at the obamaes aim administration. reportersy spoke to in newps